Article on Fairfax bike crashes and county bike plan

Accidents between vehicles and bicycles in Fairfax County are happening more frequently this year.

There have been 54 collisions between vehicles and bicycles this year with one fatality, up from 44 accidents between bicyclists and vehicles with no fatalities in 2011.

On Nov. 12, Elizabeth P. Shattuck, 58, of Falls Church, was hit by a pickup truck. Police pronounced her dead at the scene, marking the first Fairfax County death resulting from a bicycle-versus-vehicle collision in two years. The incident is still under investigation, and charges have yet to be filed.

Greg Billing, a spokesman for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, said there are an increasing number of people taking to the roads on bicycles across the region.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in crashes between vehicles and cyclists as more people are getting into cycling,” Billing said. “Enforcement is a huge issue across the region and there are a lot of motorists out there that are distracted and speeding and don’t see the cyclists on the roads.”

Update: See the ABC7 report on increased crashes in Fairfax. Floyd Alveraz of Spokes, Etc. in Vienna was interviewed. He sums up the situation well: "We're all trying to get somewhere and we all have different ways to get there, but we all need to share the road."